Kailath, Sayed, and Hassibi do an excellent job of explaining what is a fairly complicated subject. This book is best-suited for scholars who desire a deep understanding of estimation theory. Engineers who want to quickly understand how to implement a Kalman Filter might be better off buying Adaptive Filter Theory by Simon Haykin.The first chapter provides a good overview of the book, although it makes the most sense once the subject matter of the rest of the book has been digested a bit. A consistent framework emphasizing innovations (or the new information which appears at any iteration) is used throughout the book, and both continuous and discrete-time techniques for stochastic estimation are given nearly equal treatment, although the real-world engineer is likely to be interested in the latter.Professor Kailath's articulate nature and knack for the clever anecdote or one-liner shines throughout the book, making it, while very mathematical in nature, quite readable for the motivated student.

Aldous Huxley is a man so articulate and inciteful, that he has managed to succeed at a dream seeming impossible to most people who have used psychedelic drugs. His descriptions of the mescaline experience are so enchanting, illuminating, and realistic that experienced users will be amazed, while non-users will have their curiousity peaked.His discussion of the inherent spirituality of the experience and comparisons to Zen Buddhism go to show that not all drugs are destructive. Used correctly, psychedelics may provide some of the deepest insights available into the structure and meaning of the universe. I strongly encourage anyone to read this short and unique book. Unfortunately, those who need to read it the most are the least likely to.

Thomas Friedman has written a book on one of the world's most difficult and complicated subjects, and he has suceeded admirably. Reading his book greatly enriched my 2 month journey to that region of the world this summer, and since doing more reading on the subject, I keep finding myself in more and more agreement with Mr. Friedman.While no one is truly unbiased when it comes to Middle Eastern politics, I do not agree with the criticisms that he is anti-Israel. He may seem so to those brainwashed by the pro-Israel American press, but I believe he did his absolute best to "tell it like it is", rather than to advance any personal agenda.

It's easy to forget when reading this book that Irving Stone wasn't there watching Michelangelo's every move. The descriptions are so graphic, so believable, and so historically verifiable, that one feels like they intimately knew a great artist named Michelangelo when finishing. It describes the mindset of a true genius -- completely captivated by his work -- I must believe Irving Stone is one himself. This book is not for the casual reader: it is long, intense, and seeks to portray, not entertain. A bit like Michelangelo!